By Kirsten Morton on behalf of SLH
This article was originally written for the January edition of Heatons Post
I recently did a fashion challenge at work, where I committed to only wearing 30 items of clothing and not buy any clothes in December. Easy I thought but that included gym wear, shoes and coats. I thought I’d best choose well and my list even included two sparkly tops as it was the festive season. Amazingly I only got to 27 items. The biggest thing that I learnt was I have a lot of black tops and that I wear less than 20% of my wardrobe and that I don’t need any new clothes. I wasn’t tempted once in December but in early Jan I was tempted by a black top. But I caught myself, looked at my list and realised that I didn’t need it.
Ask yourself do you want or do you need the item? For me the decision on buying clothes is a conscious one and I’ll choose less items that will last longer and I’ll wear more often. I know which companies are more ethical and sustainable and I won’t buy any fast fashion. I’ve unsubscribed from lots of emails to stop temptation because if I need an item I know where to look for it. I also am fortunate that I can sew so can repair clothes but I know my limitations and a brilliant local seamstress.
So next time you are about to buy new clothes ask yourself – do I want or need it? If it’s the former then look in your wardrobe!